Turning Your Back On The Facts
by Kitsune Foxfire
Summary: Sabo might not remember who he had BEEN as a child, but he knew who he was. He was one of the leading members of the Revolutionary Army. And he was very good at what he did, even when it involved infiltrating a collapsing desert nation and trying to prevent it from imploding all while avoiding Marines AND Pirates. Spoilers for CH. 794. Drabbles. Complete.
1. Arrival

_**I'm only doing one A.N for this because it's a short story. This was an idea Anj and I were bouncing around and I said I'd write it. So here it is! I'm on vacation right now, hiding from family so I have a few more minutes. First, Thanks to**_ ** _samettikettu for betaing for me! And being a sounding board. Second, I'll write more fanfic when I can. CRAZY busy. AND I have SPN con next weekend. WISH I could do OTAKON too, but..._**

 **Question of the chapter: "Are you going to a con this summer?" I'm doing Supernatural DC Con with WeRunYonder. She's arriving tomorrow, and we're staying with my cousin... who has a four year old. Save me, please.**

"Remind me why we had to come to this God-forsaken desert of a country again, Koala?" Sabo grumped leaning on a decaying wall as he poured sand out of his shoe for what had to be the fifth time that hour.

His companion looked to be no better off with her clothes sticking to her as she fanned herself with her hat. It took away some of the fierceness of the glare Koala was directing his way, "because it is _our job_ members of the Revolutionary Army to check out hot spots and do what we can to help."

Sabo pouted, "who's bright idea was it to come _here_?" Her scathing look told him it had been his, and he vaguely remembered telling Dragon about Alabasta. He pouted more. "I didn't mean _I wanted_ to come here! It's hot. I don't sweat. This sucks. Revolt and get on with it." He grumbled half heartedly, not meaning it.

"There's a restaurant down that street, let's get you something to drink. And then I'm buying you some clothes that _aren't_ black you moron."

"Black makes me look dashing." He grinned down at her, happily falling into step. For the promise of food and water he would gladly brave the heat a little while longer.

"You're going to roast alive. At least get a cooler fabric, Sabo?"

"Fine, I'll consider it. After we get something to drink. And eat. Man that smells good-" he glared down at the arm across his chest stopping him from going towards the restaurant before looking at Koala. She had paled slightly, watching a gray haired man with a heavy looking jacket step into the same place they were going towards. "Koala?"

"Let's go somewhere else, chief."

"But-"

"That was white-chase Smoker!" She hissed, dragging him away.

It clicked. The whole base had been buzzing about Dragon's little run in with the White-Chase. For a supposedly low ranking Marine he was nothing to scoff at, either. The only reasons he had never been promoted was because he didn't follow orders well and he never left Logia town. So what the hell was he doing all the way in Alabasta? "Is he after us- the Revolutionary Army?"

"Maybe. It's possible. We should stay out of his way just in case." She turned, looking at her long time friend and Chief. "That means no fighting him, Sabo!"

"It's too hot to fight." He said, holding up his hands in defeat. "But if he finds us..." Sabo accepted the slap as his due before entering the tented cafe.


	2. Trashed Town

An explosion rocked the plaza, sending civilians sprawling onto the ground. Being Revolutionaries themselves, Sabo and Koala took off towards the first clear space to see what had caused the commotion just in time to see a huge fireball wreathed in the sky. "Holy shit!"

"Run for your lives! Fire fist is attacking!" People shouted, running from the explosion and dodging around the two of them like rocks in a stream.

"Crocodile-sama will protect us!"

"No! The marines will!"

"They're the ones who pissed him off!" Snapped one of the fleeing civilians.

Sabo grabbed the man before he could run off, his brow furrowed as he took his eyes off the show in the sky. "What do you mean?"

"Smoker went after this _other_ pirate, Strawhat. Little fella was running all over. Well, _Fire Fist_ shows up and says hands off his brother. Now they're wrecking the whole town!"

"Hmm maybe I should-"

Koala yanked Sabo backwards before he had even taken a step, "No fighting! Recon only!"

"But, Koala, they're already fighting..."

"No! We need to get back to the ship and move further up river in the confusion." She pointed out logically.

Sabo wilted at the logic before turning and leading the way through the crowd toward the docks. On the way they passed _a lot_ of destruction. Whole buildings had walls caved in! It looked like something had slammed through them in a straight line, and if that was the case no wonder people were panicked.

It looked like the destruction wasn't just limited to buildings, either. "Those guys look like they took one hell of a beating." Sabo whistled appreciatively as he hopped over a groaning man. One of maybe a dozen or so.

"Probably Baroque Works members. Though why they would go after someone as notorious as Fire-fist..."

"Not a mistake they'll be making again." Sabo laughed as they finally reached the harbor just in time to see said Fire Fist _destroy_ a good size fleet of Baroque ships in a fiery rage. Sabo blinked, not sure why the action seemed _angry_ to him. But it did. He forgot all about it when Koala grabbed his arm and dragged him into the small boat.


	3. Making Money

"You know, for a pirate that's taken over a kingdom and is cozying up to the marines at the same time," Koala began, "Crocodile sure does know how to run a casino." The machine she was at paid out a small amount.

Sabo nodded, slurping his drink as he eyed the crowd. "I give him credit for picking a _desert_ nation, being a sand

logia, but the whole 'pirate ruling a country' thing leaves a _really_ bad taste in my mouth. Pirates are free; why give that up to rule a country?"

Koala turned, giving him an odd look, "Sabo, what are you talking about? Pirates aren't any freer than anyone else."

"I don't know." He shrugged, taking another sip as his eyes scanned the crowded room just in time to see a small group go tearing through the place. "They always just seemed free to me." His stomach rumbled and he frowned, "what kind of drink is this?"

"Fermented camel milk and bananas."

Sabo shot up and ran, "where's the bathroom?"

"What? Why?"

"I'm lactose intolerant!"


	4. Camel Rides

Sabo was grateful that he hadn't finished the whole drink. Not that it hadn't been good... But apparently he reacted poorly to camel milk. That bathroom would _not_ be safe to go into for a few hours. Which is why he had suggested that perhaps the two of them go searching for the Rebel Army camp that was suppose to be an hour or so outside the oasis. Koala had given him that look that said she wasn't falling for his bullshit but had agreed easily enough so the two of them were actually down the block when it happened. The casino _sunk_.

" _SABO!_ What did you _eat?!_ "

"I told you I'm lactose intolerant!" He yelped, shielding his head from her fishman karate powered blows. She was really pissed!

"I hate camels."

"I know."

"I mean, I _really, really_ hate them."

"You said that ten minutes ago."

Sabo ignored her, "So why is it that I find myself on the _back_ of a camel I ask you?"

"Because it was cheaper then getting a horse." There was that logic again. "And since we don't know where their base is, we might be out here for a while, so camels it is."

"...when this is over, I'm eating it." The camel gave a snort of panic, and Sabo smiled a little darkly.

"Not if I sell it first."

"Spoilsport." Looking ahead he thought he saw someone. "We could always ask for directions I guess."

"You are assuming that some random person standing out in the middle of the desert happens to know exactly where the Rebel Army is camped." Koala sounded highly suspicious of his plan working.

"No, I'm betting on the strange woman standing out in the middle of the desert over a dead body to know where the rebel camp is. There's a difference."

"... You do realize she's _highly_ suspicious, right?"

"Well, yeah." Sabo muttered back, since they were almost to the woman in question, "But since I'm pretty sure she's Miss Sunday, also known as Nico Robin, it kind of goes without saying, Koala."

Koala made that cute little noise she did whenever he dragged her into something particularly dangerous, " _Sabo..._ "

He ignored her. Insead he smiled brightly at Nico Robin, ignoring the slowly growing pool of blood seeping into the sand around the still body at her feet. It's back was just one giant red stain and judging by the leakage the damage was all the way through. Poor bastard. "Miss Sunday."

"You must be from the Revolutionary Army."

Koala gaped at her in surprise, "H-how would you know that?"

"I have ears everywhere my dear." The smile she gave them was chilling.

Sabo matched it with one of his own. "Are you going to tell your boss, Crocodile?"

"As I'd have to explain what I was doing out here myself, I'm not likely." An arm rose from the sand and pointed East. "Their camp is that way."

"If you know that, why haven't you told him? And what _are_ you doing, anyway? Burying a body?"

"What makes you think Crocodile _doesn't_ know where they are?" She looked at them and offered what could be a possibly be a half shrug. "This boy has caught my interest, so I thought I'd give him a chance." Just then the body let out a snore.

Koala stared, "I thought he was dead."

"So did Crocodile when he tossed Strawhat in the sand. But apparently it takes more to finish off the boy who wishes to be Pirate King." The smile Nico Robin gave this time was much more genuine and honest, making her seem like a different person. Sabo glanced again at the still form, wondering what it was about this guy that inspired not only her but Fire Fist to such heights. "If you wish to reach the camp before they leave for battle, you should go."

He tipped his hat at her, "Right, alright, We'll do that. Good luck with your half-dead guy."

"Not to worry. Help will arrive soon."

As his Camel followed Koala's in a lumbering trot towards the camp he heard his friend comment, "What an interesting woman."


	5. Warring Nations

On the one hand, Sabo could understand how the Rebel Army felt driven to attack head on in an attempt to overthrow the government. On the other, he was more than a little annoyed by their shoddy intelligence network. They hadn't believed Koala when she had told them that their King had not been the one who had stolen the rain, in fact. It had taken blindly charging the plaza and _seeing_ Crocodile with their own eyes before anyone started to listen and by then Sabo had more important things to do than gloat. Like getting civilians the hell out of the way.

Would have been a lot harder without the weird sucks that were running all over the place, scoping people out of harms way. Koala had gone off somewhere, shouting something about keeping the fighting out of the residential district as much as possible so he was alone when an explosion rattled the buildings for the second time in a week. Dust and sand whipped past, blown by the percussive force, drawing his eyes up into the sky where the explosion was still fading. His ears still ringing he ran through the crowd towards the tallest building, a clock tower, hoping to find the source.

" _Pell!_ " He thought he heard shouted from a form hanging out the uppermost window. Sabo frowned, running faster, only stopping when _something_ broke through the ground and went flying through the sky. "What the-?"

Sabo was nearly run roughshod as Smoker and a team of Marines went charging by, "Tagashi, you go find where Crocodile landed and don't let that bastard escape! I'm going after that damn Strawhat before he cause any more trouble!" leaving a confused young Revolutionary staring after them.

"Again with this Strawhat guy. They can't _honestly_ expect some no-name to have _defeated_ a shichibukai, can they?" He snorted, no longer in such a rush to follow after the Marines. As it turned out, he didn't need to be. Before long he came across none other than the very King of the county carrying the slumped over body of a young man. Sabo ducked behind a pillar and watched as one of the few nobles he could honestly say he respected walked past and tried to figure out why that stupid hat looked so damn familiar. Straw hats were a dime a dozen, really, but something about this one…

"Your Majesty! Are you hurt?!"

"No, no I'm fine, Chaka." The King replied.

"Is that-?"

"It is. We must hurry and get him to a doctor. Crocodile poisoned him, and even with the antidote I'd feel better if our physicians looked his wounds over."

"Yes, of course. Allow me to carry him, sir."

The King refused to hand over his burden, "I shall carry him. It's the least I can do for the one who _really_ saved our country."

A tap on his shoulder almost had Sabo jumping out of his skin before he turned and saw it was just Koala. He pointed to the scene before them and whispered, "That little brat apparently just defeated Crocodile and saved Alabasta."

"Huh." She didn't seem very impressed. "I bet the Marines take all the credit again."

"I don't bet on a sure thing."


	6. Epilogue

He'd told Robin it wasn't necessary to wake Luffy up, and really it wasn't, even though it was weird to see him so still laying there. But he was breathing. Sabo _knew_ he was breathing. That was the whole point of hanging up on Koala and sneaking off- to check. It would have probably destroyed him if he'd just gotten the little brother he finally remembered two years ago back only to lose him after being reunited. He'd never be able to face Dragon if he'd stood by while his son died. Hell, he'd never be able to face Ace in the afterlife, either. In fact, he was pretty sure Ace would come back from the dead and beat the shit out of him. (No you dont)

But Luffy (I see you there) was snoring away, dead to the world as Sabo watched. The questions were expected, even if they were… painful. _Exspecially_ with the look Zoro was giving him. His little brother…. really had managed to get a good crew after all. It was good to see it for himself that Luffy had people he could rely on now. So he told them the truth, knowing they'd find his story lacking. After all, _amnesia_? What kind of lame-ass excuse was that? He'd _abandoned_ his brothers! Left Luffy to try and rescue Ace all on his own! And even after- even then- he was too much of a _coward_ to face his young brother right away….

"Bwawawawa! That is the saddest story ever, Bro!" The cyborg bawled, tears streaming down his face. It was strange to see his cybernetic eye crying, and a little distracting. "Lubyibsolubytoabyou!"

"Huh?"

"'Luffy is so lucky to have you'" Robin translated, not looking up from her book, a smug smile on her face.

"Second Division Comander of the Whitebeards, and Second in command of the Revolutionary Army. You two aimed big, huh?" Zoro grinned, and approving glint in his eye, "Luffy aimed bigger."

Sabo got the feeling the man was suggesting somehow his own drive had _still_ been influenced by his brothers, even with the amnesia. He smiled, even if it was a little shaky, and stood. "Speaking of, I should go. I know he's a bit of a handful, but can you take care of him for me?"

He glanced down at his little brother, the little idiot who didn't know the meaning of restraint in anything he did and watched as Luffy rolled over onto his side, facing the wall. Sabo's mouth went slack slightly as, not for the first time that day, the image overlapped with the past. However unlike before, it didn't overlap with his early childhood - images of Luffy being carried by Ace - but of his time with the Revolutionaries. He blinked, barely noticing as Robin's calm smile turned into more of a grin as Luffy's epitaph really _clicked_ for him. " _Strawhat_ Luffy…. causes a lot of excitement wherever he goes, huh?" Like overthrowing whole countries… how many had it been?

Zoro snorted, "You have no idea. If you think he was bad as a kid, you should try sailing with him."

"That doesn't comfort me." Sabo muttered, hand on the doorknob as he seriously debated telling Koala there was a change of plans and the three of them were going to be sailing with his brother till the idiot learned _not_ to take on every Shichibukai he saw.


End file.
